MIGRATION AND ETHNOGENESIS – Celto-Scythians and Celticization in Ukraine and the North Pontic Region

UD: Feb. 2019

 

 

This article (in: Материалы по Археологии и Истории Античного и Средневекового Крыма Археология, история, нумизматика, сфрагистика иэпиграфика. (Moscow State University) Севастополь Тюмень Нижневартовск 2015. pp. 50-58.) provides an overview of the latest linguistic, numismatic and archaeological evidence pertaining to the expansion of the La Tene culture into the area of modern Ukraine and the North Pontic region from the 3rd century BC onwards. A distinction is observed between the situation in western Ukraine where the process of Celtic migration / colonization is reflected in the archaeological evidence, and further east where the presence of Celtic “warrior bands” / mercenary groups has been identified. Testimony in ancient sources to the emergence of mixed Celto-Scythian populations in this area and their ultimate contribution to the complicated ethnogenesis of the early medieval peoples, including the Slavs, is also discussed.

 

 

 

Full Article (in English/pages 50-58):

https://www.academia.edu/24918722/Celto-Scythians_and_Celticization_in_Ukraine_and_the_North_Pontic_Region._In_%D0%9C%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8B_%D0%BF%D0%BE_%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%B8_%D0%98%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B8_%D0%90%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%B8_%D0%A1%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%BE_%D0%9A%D1%80%D1%8B%D0%BC%D0%B0_%D0%90%D1%80%D1%85%D0%B5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%BD%D1%83%D0%BC%D0%B8%D0%B7%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D1%81%D1%84%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%B8%D1%8D%D0%BF%D0%B8%D0%B3%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%84%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B0._Moscow_State_University_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%A2%D1%8E%D0%BC%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%B6%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B2%D1%81%D0%BA_2015._pp._50-58._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

INTO THE EAST – The Celticization of Western Ukraine

 

From the beginning of the 3^rd century BC the territory of modern Ukraine, previously defined by the Scythians of the North Pontic steppes and Hellenistic influences from the Black Sea zone, was supplemented by the Celtic culture from the west. The influence of the latter in western Ukraine is testified to by extensive archaeological evidence which indicates the classic pattern of Celtic migration/settlement….

 

 

 

FULL ARTICLE :

https://www.academia.edu/21918619/INTO_THE_EAST_The_Celticization_of_Western_Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE GLASS REVOLUTION – Evolution of European Glass Jewelry in the Later Iron Age

UD: July 2019

 

 

 

While the production of glass jewelry had been a feature of Celtic culture since the Bronze Age, from a technological and artistic perspective the middle La Tène period, specifically from the 3^rd century BC onwards, marked a revolution in European glass production. High quality glass jewelry, particularly bracelets, which has been found at all the better investigated Celtic sites of the middle and late La Tène period, displays a wide typological variety hitherto unseen in Europe.

 

Bowl of clear glass from the burial of a Celtic aristocrat at Ihringen (Baden-Württemberg), Germany

(ca. 500 BC)

 

Archaeological evidence clearly indicates that during the latter period Celtic glassmakers mastered to perfection not only the skill of creating ready-made products, but also how to control the chemical composition of the raw material in order to achieve the optimum quality, transparency and colour (Karwowski 2012).

Fragments of glass bracelets from the Celtic settlement at Erkelenz-Westfalen (Nordrhein-Westfalen), Germany (3-1 century BC)

(After Karwowski 2012)

 

Bracelet of blue glass beads from the Balkan Celtic settlement at Osijek in eastern Croatia.

(2 c. BC)

 

While evidence of glass production has been discovered at a large number of sites, it is interesting to note that the vast majority of these are not oppida, but large settlements of an open character dating to the middle La Tène period, i.e. date to the period before the oppida emerged. Notable examples of such include Nìmèice in Moravia (Venclová 2006, Venclová et al 2009), Etzersdorf  in Lower Austria  (Karwowski 2004, 46), Egglfing in Bavaria (Uenze 2000, 17–20), the settlement complex at Dürrnberg in Salzburg (Brand 2002, 110–113), and the open settlement on the site where the oppidum at Manching in Bavaria later emerged (Gebhard 1989).

 

Bracelets of light green glass from Celtic burials at Palárikovo and Maòa, Slovakia (3/2 c. BC)

(After Karwowski 2012)

 

Fragments of glass bracelets from the Celtic settlement at Pelczyska, southern Poland (2-1 c. BC)

(see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/the-celts-in-poland/ )

 

Celtic bracelet of blue and yellow glass from Saliceta San Giuliano (Modena), Italy (ca. 200 BC)

Bracelet of blue glass from Biskupice in eastern Czechia (2 c. BC)

 

Glass bracelets from the Celtic settlement of Epomanduodurum (Mandeure-Mathay (Doubs), France (2/1 c. BC)

 

 

“EYE BRACELETS”

 

Probably the most exquisite example of such Middle La Tène arm rings are the “Érsekújvár” type, produced by the Eastern Celts. Such bracelets are of high quality blue glass with white opaque glass used to further highlight the relief; the composition, based on triangular/rhomboid forms with zig-zag/spiral decoration, thus creating the impression of human eyes.

 

Érsekújvár type bracelet from Komját/Komjatice (Nitra Region), Slovakia

(after Karwowski M., Prohászka P. 2014)

 

Bracelets of the Érsekújvár type were popular among all the eastern Celtic tribes. Besides Hungary and Slovakia, where the most intense concentration of such arm rings has been registered, examples have been found in Celtic settlements and burials in eastern Austria, the Czech Republic and southern Poland, as well as among the Balkan Celts, notably the Scordisci. The easternmost example yet recorded was discovered during excavations at the Greek colony of Tyras – today’s Bilhorod-Dnistrowskyj in the Odessa region of Ukraine (Karwowski, Prohászka 2014).

 

Érsekújvár type bracelet from an unspecified location in Hungary (Hungarian National Museum)

(After Karwowski M., Prohászka P. (2014)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail / Krusseva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Literature Cited

 

Brand C. (2002) Graphitton und Glas: Studien zur keltischen Keramik- und Armringproduktion vor dem Hintergrund Dürrnberger Siedlungsfunde. In: Claus Dobiat/Susanne Sievers/Thomas Stöllner (Hrsg.), Dürrnberg und Manching. Wirtschaftsarchäologie im ostkeltischen Raum. Kolloquien zur Vor- und Frühgeschichte 7 (Bonn 2002) 107–116.

Gebhard R. (1989) Der Glasschmuck aus dem Oppidum von Manching. Ausgr. Manching 11 (Stuttgart 1989).

Karwowski M. (2012) Die Glastechnik und ihre Entwicklung in der Latène-Kultur – fremder Einfluss  oder eigene Kreativität?. In: Technologieentwicklung und –transfer in der Hallstatt- und Latènezeit. Beiträge zur Internationalen Tagung der AG Eisenzeit und des Naturhistorischen Museums Wien, Prähistorische Abteilung – Hallstatt 2009. pp. 243 – 252

Karwowski M., Prohászka P. (2014). Der mittellatènezeitliche Glasarmring von Komjatice/Komját. BemerkunGen zu Den Keltischen armringen Der Form „Érsekújvár” AAC 49: 231–248.

Uenze H. P. (2000) Die jüngerlatènezeitliche Siedlung von Egglfing. Bayerische Vorgeschichtsbl. 65, 2000, 1–38.

Venclová N. (2006) Le verre celtique de Nemcice nad Hanou. In: V. Kruta (Hrsg.), Les Celtes en Bohême, en Moravie et dans le nord de la Gaule. Dossiers d’Arch. 313, 2006, 50–55.

Venclová et al. (2008) Venclová N., Drda P., Michálek J., Vokolek V., Výrobní areály a activity. In: N. Venclová (Hrsg.), Archeologie pravìkých Èech 7 – Doba laténská (Praha 2008) 53–82.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PUPPETRIDERS – Celtic Coinage of the “Zichyújfalu” types

UD: April 2019

 

 

The most fascinating and enigmatic of late Iron Age European coinage, the Celtic Puppetrider tetradrachms were produced from the early 3rd c. BC onwards by the Pannonian Celtic tribes. The coinage itself features a male laureate head on the obverse, the subjects eye being represented on a number of issues by an arrowhead.

 

Obverse of Celtic tetradrachm of the Puppetrider/Triskele type (Hungary, late 3rd c. BC)

 

The reverse depicts a horseman with left arm raised, of whom only the upper part of the body is represented. Behind the riders head and in front of the horse is a Celtic inscription while below the horse, on the majority of such coins, is a triskelion/triskele, a common symbol on late Iron Age Celtic coins and other artifacts. The triskele variants date from the mid 3rd c. BC onwards, while rarer issues which feature a monogram from the coinage of the Paeonian king Audoleon, from which the Celtic puppetrider types are believed to have evolved, date to a slightly earlier period.

 

Puppetrider tetradrachm with triskele, and the earlier type with Audoleon monogram

(both from the Zichyújfalu hoard; see below)

 

 

PUPPETRIDER/TRISKELE

 

As mentioned, the vast majority of puppetrider coins are of the aforementioned triskele type. Based on the recorded finds of such, the epicentre of production and distribution lay in the area of today’s central Hungary where, besides numerous single finds, two major hoards of such have been found in close proximity – those from Zichyújfalu, which included 268 Celtic coins, 262 of the triskele type, and Dunaújváros (also in Fejér county) (Kerényi 1960; Göbl 1972: 51-52) which included a similar, slightly larger, hoard of such coinage (see map 1 below).

 

 

 

Puppetrider/Triskele tetradrachms from the Zichyújfalu hoard

(after Torbágyi 2012)

 

A second concentration of puppetrider/triskele coinage has been identified around the villages of Sióagárd/Baranyamágócs, slightly to the south. These coins, however, are artistically and technically inferior to the aforementioned issues, and should therefore be seen as contemporary Celtic imitations of the latter.

 

 

Puppetrider/Triskele tetradrachms from Sióagárd

(after Torbágyi 2012)

 

Although Celtic coinage of the Puppetrider/Triskele types circulated chiefly in the aforementioned area of Central Hungary, finds such as those from Diex in southern Austria, Batina in eastern Croatia, Bač in northern Serbia, as well as Bratislava and Görgő in Slovakia, and Ungvár in western Ukraine (loc cit), indicate that this type of coinage circulated widely among the Celtic tribes of Eastern Europe during the period in question.

 

Distribution of recorded finds of Celtic Puppetrider/Triskele type coinage (3rd/2nd c. BC)

 

 

 

 

Literature Cited

 

Göbl R. (1972) Neue technische Forschungsmethoden in der keltischen Numismatik. Anzeiger der phil.-hist. Klasse der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften 109/1972: 49-63.

Kerényi A. (1960) Sztálinvárosi kelta éremlelet. (Trouvaille de médailles celtiques à Sztalinváros /Intercisa/) Numizmatikai Közlöny 58-59/1959-1960: 3-6, 83.
Torbágyi M. (2008) Der „Zichyújfalu” Typ mit Audoleon Monogramm. Festschrift für Günther
Dembski zum 65. Geburtstag. NZ 116-117/2008: 87-93.

Torbágyi M. (2012)Der Münzfund von Zichyújfalu 1873, In: VAMZ, 3. s., XLV (2012) p. 537-552

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LITTLE METAL MEN – Celtic Pseudo-Anthropomorphic and Anthropomorphic Swords

UD: Jan. 2020

 

 

Some of the finest examples of Iron Age metalwork are to be found on the anthropomorphic hilts of swords which appear in the 2nd c. BC, produced by the pan-Celtic tribes across Europe. In late Iron Age artistic compositions human heads become increasingly frequent and realistic, and appear to have had talismanic significance. The hilts of middle to late La Têne swords become truly anthropomorphic, with the figures body as sword grip and the arms and legs as cross bars. 

 

Celtic sword from Switzerland and detail of hilt (Iron blade, copper alloy hilt and scabbard)

(ca. 60 BC)

 

Celtic anthropomorphic sword hilts from Mouriès (Bouches-du-Rhône) and Tesson (Charente-Maritime), France

(2/1 c. BC)

 

 

Celtic anthropomorphic sword in the Reichstadtmuseum Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany (2nd c. BC)

 

The head of an anthropoid hilt from a Celtic sword, discovered at Besançon, France (2 c. BC)

 

Such anthropomorphic representations are not confined to swords, but are also to be found on a number of Celtic daggers from this period. The more realistic depiction of the human head in the late La Têne period, possibly under Roman influence, is also to be observed on other artifacts, notably eastern Celtic helmets of the Novo Mesto type.

 

Short iron sword with X-shaped hilt,  from the Celtic settlement in the Gališ-Lovačka hills, western Ukraine (3/2 c. BC). It is from such X-shaped hilts that the Celtic anthropomorphic hilts are believed to have evolved.

 

Ritually ‘killed’ Celtic sword with proto-anthropomorphic hilt from Szendrő, northern Hungary (3rd c. BC)

 

Hilt of a Celtic dagger from Zalaegerszeg, Hungary.
(2nd c. BC)

 

Human heads from the front and rear of the Novo Mesto type Sava helmet from Croatia

(1st c. BC)

(see: https://www.academia.edu/5463297/The_Power_of_3_-_Some_Observations_On_Eastern_Celtic_Helmets)

 

Celtic swords (and daggers) with anthropomorphic hilts were produced during the La Têne C/D period (2nd c. BC – early 1st c. AD), and have been found across the continent stretching from northwestern Ireland to the Balkans, indicating that they gained popularity among all the pan-Celtic European tribes during this period.

 

Celtic sword with anthropomorphic hilt from Saint-André-de-Lidon (Charente-Maritime) France (2/1 c. BC)

 

Celtic sword with anthropomorphic hilt, from a warrior burial at North Grimston (Yorkshire), England

(late 2nd century BC)

Bronze Celtic sword hilt from Ballyshannon Bay (Donegal) northwestern Ireland

(1st c. BC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE DEATH OF ALL THINGS – Killing the Objects in Celtic Europe

UD: April 2019

 

 

With its origins in the Bronze Age, one of the most mysterious phenomena in Celtic Europe is the practice of ‘Killing the Objects’ – the deliberate bending, breaking or otherwise deforming of weapons and other artifacts before depositing them in burials or as votive offerings at religious sanctuaries (on this practice see also Pleiner R., Scott, B. G. (1993); Kurz, G. (1995); Bradley R. (1998); Megaw J.V. (2003).

 

The Gleninsheen Gorget from the Burren (Clare), Ireland (800-700 BC)

Ridges on the right hand side of the dazzling gold collar show that it was roughly bent in two before it was thrust into a rock fissure. Most of the other eight surviving examples of such collars were “decommissioned” in a similar fashion before being deposited.

 

Ritually ‘killed’ swords recorded in the British Isles and Iberia from the late Atlantic Bronze Age

https://www.academia.edu/22189046/Beakers_into_Bronze_Tracing_connections_between_Iberia_and_the_British_Isles_2800-800_BC

 

Ritually killed sword (iron with gold inlay) from an early Iron Age Celtic chieftain’s burial at Oss in the southern Netherlands. (ca. 700 BC)

‘Sacrificed’ Iron weapons from the sanctuary at Gournay-sur-Aronde (France)

(3^rd c. BC)

Musée Antoine-Vivenel (Oise, France)

 

Ritually killed weapons (sword/scabbard and spearhead), razor and shears, from a Celtic warrior burial at St. Johann (Württemberg) in southern Germany (3-2 c. BC)

Ritually killed – bent / folded iron sword from Celtic warrior burial #59 at Gyöngyös in northeastern Hungary

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2017/09/02/expansion-and-symbiosis-a-major-celto-scythian-settlement-and-burial-complex-from-the-matra-mountains-in-north-eastern-hungary/

 

The ritual of Killing the Objects appears on the Balkans with the Celtic eastwards expansion of the late 4^th – 3^rd c. BC, with numerous examples recorded from Celtic burials stretching from the Adriatic Sea in the west to the Black Sea in the east. Examples have also been found north of the Carpathians at sites such as Korytnica in southeastern Poland and Mala Kopanya hillfort (7 ritually ‘killed’ late La Têne swords – Kazakevich 2012) in western Ukraine.

Ritually killed La Têne sword from Mala Kopanya in western Ukraine (1st c. BC/1 c. AD)

Ritually ‘Killed’ Spearhead from the Celtic (Scordisci) burial at Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia

see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/the-warrior-and-his-wife-a-scordisci-burial-from-serbia/

 

Ritually ‘Killed’ Sword from Korytnica, (Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship), south-central Poland (1st c. BC)

see: https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2013/02/09/the-celts-in-poland/

 

This practice was a common one in Thrace with examples of ‘killed’ weapons having been recorded in numerous Celtic warrior burials discovered on the territory of today’s Bulgaria, ranging from the 3^rd c. BC onwards, such as those at Plovdiv (Bospacheva 1995), Kalnovo (Shumen region) (Ananasov 1992), Sofia (Kazarow 1926:41), or Kazanlak/Sevtopolis (Getov 1962). A particular high concentration of burials with ‘killed’ weapons comes from Scordisci territory in north-central and north-western Bulgaria (see: https://www.academia.edu/5385798/Scordisci_Swords_from_Northwestern_Bulgaria ).

 

The latest recorded evidence of this practice comes from the Stara Planina (Balkan) mountains of central Bulgaria where the ritual is to be observed at sites such as Taja (Stara Zagora reg.), where ritually killed La Têne swords and other Celtic weapons have been found in burials dating to the 3^rd/4^th c. AD (Domaradski 1993), indicating that in certain parts of Thrace some Celtic groups retained their independence and identity into the late Roman period.

Celtic burial goods including ritually ‘killed’ weapons from northeastern Bulgaria.

(Varna Archaeological Museum)

 

Ritually ‘killed’ Celtiberian La Tène sword from the Celtiberian necropolis at Quintanas de Gormaz, Soria, Castile and León, Spain (4/3 century BC)

 

Ritually killed iron sword from a Balkan Celtic warrior burial at Kupinovo (Syrmia), Serbia

(3rd c. BC)

 

CULT SITES

Besides weapons and other artifacts found in Celtic burials, the ritual of ‘killing the objects’ is also to be observed at Celtic cult sites across Europe.

Sacrificed weapons and lead votive ‘Taranis Wheels’ (see Taranis article) from Nanteuil-Sur-Aisne in the territory of the Remi tribe in Gaul (2^nd/1^st c. BC)

http://www.gaulois.ardennes.culture.fr/accessible/en/uc/05_01_01-Nanteuil-sur-Aisne

In about 200 BC, damaged weapons, hammered and broken on purpose, were placed in a geometric pattern on the ground at the edges of the sacred site, and buried immediately. The large oval ditch surrounding the temple also contained the remains of weapons, belt buckles and tools, as well as human bones. In the early 1^st century BC, such votive wheels, made of gold, silver, potin, bronze and especially lead, replaced the deposits of weapons.

Ritually ‘killed’iron sword from the  Gaulish sanctuary at Gournay-sur-Aronde, France (2 c. BC)

 

In Thrace the custom of ‘Killing the Objects’ is to be observed particularly at cult sites in the Rhodope and Stara Planina (Balkan) mountains of central and southern Bulgaria. Recent publications of excavations from the Rhodope mountains provide conclusive proof that this Celtic practice was common among the local population there in the 3^rd – 1^st c. BC. Votive offerings (Torcs, ceramic vessels, fibulae, daggers etc.) at cult sites such as Tsruncha (Smolyan region), Koprivlen and Babyak (both Blagoevgrad region) (Christov 1999; Kisyov 1990;Tonkova, Gotcheva 2008) etc. show clear evidence of having been ‘killed’ in the typical Celtic fashion.

 

Reconstruction of a ritually killed Celtic ‘cult’ fire-pot found at Babyak, Rhodope mountains (Southwestern Bulgaria)

(see: https://www.academia.edu/5046182/Zoomorphic_Cult_Firepots  )

 

Thousands of examples of this practice have been recorded across Europe, indicating that it was a ritual common to all the pan-Celtic tribes. However, although many theories have been postulated, for now the exact significance of this mysterious custom remains unclear. 

 

Ritually ‘killed’ iron Celtic dagger recently discovered by treasure hunters at Bulbuc (Alba County), Transylvania (late 2nd/early 1st c. BC)

(see : https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/curved-sacrificial-daggers/ )

 

Ritually ‘killed’ blacksmiths tools (anvil, tongs, sledge hammer, chisel and poker) found deposited in the River Lea at Waltham Abbey (Essex), England (1st century BC)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources Cited

 

Atanassov 1992 = Атанасов Г., Съорьжени от III– II в. Пр. н.е. от околностите на с. Кълново, Шуменско – ИИМШ,VII, 1992, с. 5-44

Bospacheva 1995 = Боспачиева М. Погилно погребение от елинистическия некропол на филипопол – Исвестия на музеите в Южна България 21, 43-61

Bradley R. (1998): The passage of arms. An archaeological analysis of prehistoric hoard and votive deposits. (2ed.) Oxford

Christov Iv., Rock Sanctuaries of MountainThrace. V. Tarnovo. 1999

Domaradski 1993 = Домарадски М., Могилен Некропол В М. Атанасца При С. Тъжа. In: Първи Международен Симпозиум “Севтополис”, Надгробните Могили в Югоизточна Европа. Казанлък, 4-8 юни 1993 г., Pp. 267 – 306.

Getov 1962 = Гетов Л., Нови данни за въорежението у нас през латенската епоха – Археология, IV, 1962, 3, c. 41-43, обр. 1-3.

Kazakevich G. (2012) Celtic Military Equipment from the Territory of Ukraine: Towards a new Warrior Identity in the pre-Roman Eastern Europe. In: Transforming Traditions: Studies in Archaeology, Comparative Linguistics and Narrative. Studia Celto-Slavica 6. p. 177- 212. Lódź.

Kazarow 1926 = Кацаров Г., България в древността. Историко-археологически очерк. Популярна археологическа библиотека, No. 1. София 1926

Kisyov 1990 = Кисьов К., Скални светилища в Родопите и Горнотракийската низина, представени с археологически материали и обкети от Смолянско и Пловдивско – Тракийската култура в Родопите е горните течения на реките Марица, Места и Струма. Смолян, 1990, 64-74

Kurz G. (1995) Keltische Hort- und Gwässerfunde in Mitteleuropa. Deponierungen der Latènezeit. Material hefte zur Archäologie in Baden-Würrtemberg 33. Stuttgart

Megaw J.V. Celtic Foot(less) Soldiers? An icongraphic note, Gladius XXIII, 2003, pp. 61-70

Pleiner R., Scott, B. G. (1993): The Celtic sword. Oxford.

Tonkova, Gotcheva 2008 = Тонкова, М. и Ал. Гоцев (eds.) Тракийското светилище при Бабяк и неговата археологическа среда. София 2008.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celtic Coinage from Ukraine

 

                                                                                   

 

 

 

Although extensive archaeological material from western Ukraine testifies to significant Celtic settlement in the region from the 3^rd c. BC onwards (Kazakevich 2012), published finds of Celtic coinage from this region has hitherto been confined to the Upper Tisza and Dneister Estuary areas….

 

Full Article:

https://www.academia.edu/4072179/Celtic_Coinage_From_Ukraine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE POWER OF 3 – Eastern Celtic Helmets

UD: March 2019

 

Celtic helmets from the late La Têne period form 3 main groups – single unit helmets found mostly in France and Switzerland; 2-part helmets, composed of a calotte and/or type Port neck guard, which are found both east and west of the Alps; Eastern Celtic 3-part helmets of the Novo Mesto type….

 

Full Article:

https://www.academia.edu/5463297/The_Power_of_3_-_Some_Observations_On_Eastern_Celtic_Helmets

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mac Congail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE KAMULA SCABBARD – A Celto-Scythian Openwork Scabbard from Western Ukraine

UD: December 2018

From the vicinity of the Kamula mountain in western Ukraine comes one of the most fascinating Celtic artifacts from Eastern Europe – the late La Têne scabbard from Gryniv.

Celtic groups settled in this part of the Upper Dniester river during the last decades of the 1^st c. BC, mixing with the local Przerorsk culture. Traces of a Celtic speaking population on the upper Dniester are to be found in several place- and ethnic names, among them Καρρόδουνον, Мαιτώνιον, and Ήρακτον (Claud. Ptol. III.5.15; Sims-Williams 2006: 218-19, Falileyev 2005, 2007:4-9), and the name of the Kamula mountain itself (Tischenko 2006:220, Kazakevich 2010: 172), in the vicinity of which the Gryniv burial complex is situated.

THE SCABBARD

The Gryniv scabbard was discovered in burial # 3 at the cemetery and dated to between the second and fourth decades of the 1^st c. AD. The burial contained an iron fibula, sword/scabbard, spearhead, 3 knives, a spur, shield umbo, pottery of local and Balkan origin and shears (Kazakevich op cit.). The presence of shears in Celtic burials is well documented among the Celts of central and eastern Europe (loc cit.), and many of the objects in the burial, including the shears and weapons had been ritually killed – i.e. broken, bent or otherwise deformed, according to the well known Celtic custom.

The most notable artifact was the scabbard from which two bronze plates have been preserved. One of them is decorated with cut-out anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figures in the open work (opus interasile) style. The scabbards with open work decoration originated from the La Têne zone of central Europe where a strong tradition of richly decorated scabbards existed (Szabó 1996). Although most of the open work scabbards contained a comparatively simple geometric ornamentation, the Gryniv bronze plate is decorated in a much more sophisticated manner.

 

The decoration consists of 5 scenes:

Section A – A beast of prey catching a long necked bird;

Section B – An eagle headed griffin:

Section C – An Embracing couple:

Section D – A horse (pony?) encircled by two plants or leaves:

Section E – A horseman with spear and round shield:

 

Particularly noteworthy in the depiction of the horseman in section E is the circular shield carried by the warrior. Such shields are not typical of the Celts, but of the Germani, and the portrayal is a good example of the ethnically diverse nature of the population which developed in this area during the period in question.

From an artistic perspective, parallels to the scabbards decoration may be found in many Celtic artifacts. For example, the closest analogue of the eagle-headed griffin in section B is to be found on the Celto-Thracian Gundestrup Cauldron, while the floral elements (triangular leaves on long stalks), as well as the features and proportions of the human figures, are also very similar to examples from Gundestrup and other Celto-Thracian artifacts of this period (op cit.).

The fact that the male and female figures form the center of the composition, and this section is disproportionally larger than the other scenes, logically indicates that this is the central theme, which has led to the conclusion that the whole composition depicts a scene of ‘sacred marriage’ symbolizing a form of cosmological structure (Kozak 2008:157-159).

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Celtic Ukraine see –

“Migration and Ethnogenesis – Celto-Scythians and Celticization in Ukraine and the North Pontic Region”:

https://balkancelts.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/celto-scythians-and-celticization-in-ukraine-and-the-north-pontic-region/

 

Literature Cited

 

Falileyev A. (2005) Celtic Presence in Dobrudja: Onomastic Evidence. In: Cojocaru V. ed., Ethnic Contacts and Cultural Exchanges North and West of the Black Sea from Greek Colonization to Ottoman Conquest. Iasi. P. 291-303.

Kazakevich G. (2010) The Late La Têne Scabbard from the Upper Dniester Area: A Far Relative of the Gundestrup Cauldron? In: Studia Celto-Slavica 5. Dimensions and Categories of Celticity: Studies in Literature and Culture. Proceedings of the Fourth Internationl Colloquium of Societas Celto-Slavica. University of Lódź, Poland, 13-15 Septemer 2009. Part 2. P. 171- 179.

Kozak D. N. (2008) Venedy. Kyiv: Instytut Arheologii

Sims-Williams P. (2006) Ancient Celtic Place-Names in Europa and Asia Minor. Oxford.

Szabó M (1996) L’expansion Celte et l’armament décoré. MEFRA 108, 522-553.

Tyschenko K. M. (2006) Movni kontakty: svidky formuvannia ukraintsiv (Linguistic Contacts: Witnesses of the Formation of the Ukrainians). Kyiv.

Mac Congail

BALKAN CELTS

In the tide of nationalism and revisionism which has marked the last century, our common European Celtic heritage has been systematically deconstructed, manipulated and denied. To balance this phenomenon, the BALKANCELTS organization presents the archaeological, numismatic, linguistic and historical facts pertaining to the Celts in Eastern Europe and Asia-Minor, within the context of the pan-European Celtic culture – a heritage which belongs to no nation, yet is common to all.

  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Balkancelts

 

ACADEMIA.EDU:

http://ucd-ie.academia.edu/BrendanMacGonagle